The magnitude of Jesus' sacrifice

[Dolores de Barriga]

Hello Landover,

I come to you with a question, hoping that your answers will help me accept and love Jesus and avoid eternal damnation in Hell.

As a child, I was taught about Jesus' Sacrifice. He died on the cross for our sins, and He resurrected on the third day - on Sunday morning, after He died Friday evening - so that would be after a day and a half of being dead.

And this is something I cannot wrap my mind around. When I try to think about it, I reach the conclusion that for an eternal Being, to be dead for one and a half day would be the equivalent of me poking my own finger with a needle for a split second - only once in my lifetime. How is that a true sacrifice, if Jesus only suffered for a very short time - from the point of view of an immortal Being - and then got up and was totally fine, and will be fine for all eternity?

When I think of a true sacrifice, I'm thinking of a mother dying so that her child her live. Dying and staying dead. Or of someone giving away their own meal so that someone else can eat it - without the possibility of eating it five minutes later. In general, sacrifice = giving up something for good. Without the possibility of regaining it shortly after.

Please help me understand, why are we supposed to call a "sacrifice" something that was completely meaningless from Jesus' point of view? I don't want to burn in Hell, but I fear I will for having such thoughts!

[Mary Etheldreda]

Re: The magnitude of Jesus' sacrifice

Your lack of comprehension does not bode well for any potential Salvation. You see, those for whom Christ has not removed the scales from their eyes will forever be confused. The will think the Gospel lacking in some way, maybe logic or humanism or basic common sense. This is not a fault of the Faith of Christ, but a result of sin.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18

I would encourage you to read carefully the lovely explanation the Holy Spirit personally and lovingly inspired in our Sister in Christ, MitzaLizalor. You can follow the link to the thread where she originally posted, but you can also follow up here as the other thread is an introduction and your question would be best addressed separately.

I will pray that Jesus hasn't condemned you already, for I do so hate to see pearls thrown before swine (Matthew 7:6).

I'm always willing to speak up for someone seeking knowledge of Christ, remembering how I argued sometimes even as a child with people explaining The Bible to rescue me from damnation.

HELL, FOREVER, is what they hoped to save me from. Well, I had eyes. I could read The Bible. And it seemed to me that the basics were very wrong. One Easter I wrote a note to say I would believe this stuff if I could – but I couldn't.

You see I'd come up with the idea (after reading Isaiah's prophecy as it happens) that I did not believe in human sacrifice. What I was missing, the most important part in fact, is that what I think is irrelevant. This is about what God knows. The Bible explains that everyone starts off deserving torment. When looking at a baby God does not think how cute its little toes are but sees a writhing mess of sin. Many babies will go on to worship idols or to study astrology or obsess over mythologies which can only be described as insane to such an extent that even the most committed presentation of God's Plan for Salvation will be rejected. Death alone was not enough. Hell was created. Torture beyond our comprehension but what could God do?


All babies have rejected God's Perfect Love.


How could a perfect God ever understand death? It comes from sin but God does not sin. Everything about Him is perfect and everything He does is perfect. The only way for Him to understand would be to experience death for Himself but that would mean sin. Not just enacting sin by eating a dead pig or something or even by turning into a baby. God decided to actually be sin. And that meant being born as a human being. There's no room for manoeuvre on this, The Bible is absolutely explicit:


II Corinthians 5:21 For he [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.


That's the missing piece. That's what I didn't understand. Jesus Christ was born as a tiny baby with the little toes but without the sin. Born for the vivid purpose of being killed and can you imagine how revolted He must have been to not only see sin but to actually become sin? By rejecting the perfect sacrifice He made I was throwing all that revolting straight back in His face, failing to appreciate God's standard and instead applying mine. As I read more of The Bible I came to understand The Truth, the consequences in the real world when people accept what The Bible teaches and the consequences of rejecting it.

So when someone expresses doubts I remember my own doubts and am happy to show where The Bible tells us about just how much God loves us and what happens to everyone who thinks they know better.







1. Isaiah 1:2 – 66:24

2. Some of the tortures guaranteed in The Bible for rejecting God's love are
• very high temperatures between 240°C and 444°C
• worms that never die gnawing on you forever, first mentioned in the last verse of Isaiah [referenced above] and confirmed by Jesus in Mark chapter 9
• suffocating smoke so bad that if you weren't already dead it would kill you getting worse and worse and worse for ever and ever
• wailing becomes inevitable
• then your teeth gnash which means they grind away and disintegrate while Jesus watches as described in Revelation chapter 14
• none of this ever stops

[Dolores de Barriga]

Re: The magnitude of Jesus' sacrifice

Thank you, Mrs. Etheldreda. Just to sum up: regarding the magnitude of Jesus' sacrifice, instead of questioning it, I should praise Jesus out of fear of Hell. I understand, and I do fear that Hell is my destiny for all my heretic thoughts.

Notwithstanding, I still cannot force myself to see any logic in any of it.

[Ezekiel Bathfire]

Re: The magnitude of Jesus' sacrifice

Hello Landover,

I come to you with a question,

And not for the first time

As a child, I was taught about Jesus' Sacrifice. He died on the cross for our sins, and He resurrected on the third day - on Sunday morning, after He died Friday evening - so that would be after a day and a half of being dead.

Indeed! A magnificent sacrifice: a miracle, a demonstration of Godly Power and the potential for mankind to regain Paradise!

Well remembered! And so clearly!, Now, What's the question?

And this is something I cannot wrap my mind around.

Based on your past postings, this is a common occurrence for you. It must be a constant worry to you and those who look after you.

I reach the conclusion that for an eternal Being, to be dead for one and a half day would be the equivalent of me poking my own finger with a needle for a split second - only once in my lifetime.

I'm sure you must have had a prick in your fingers before now, and have realised that this has no Salvific value whatsoever, and because you don't understand anything, you have no followers (I am not counting Facebook or Twitter or as I say "Where the vapid congregate.")

How is that a true sacrifice,

How is it not?

if Jesus only suffered for a very short time - from the point of view of an immortal Being - and then got up and was totally fine, and will be fine for all eternity?

You seem to have an unhealthy fascination with self-harm and pain: When I next see one of our Christian Doctors, I'll bring up your case.

When I think of a true sacrifice, I'm thinking of a mother dying so that her child her live. Dying and staying dead.

How would that help? The kid doesn't have a Mother! Yet we have Jesus!

Or of someone giving away their own meal so that someone else can eat it

I did that once - I was at Scout camp and I thought someone had put poison mushrooms in the meal. (as it was it turned out they were them "Magic mushrooms" and everyone except me saw visions of Jesus and Heaven... )

In general, sacrifice = giving up something for good. Without the possibility of regaining it shortly after.

You see, Jesus does not do things "in general" He does things you can only dream about.

Please help me understand, why are we supposed to call a "sacrifice" something that was completely meaningless from Jesus' point of view?

You've explained it yourself. Being dead for 2 minutes, or being dead for 2000 years is unremarkable - what is remarkable is "coming back again!"

Now I reckon that coming back from the dead takes superhuman effort, and not the sort of thing even Jesus would want to do more than once.

So He spent a lot of time on Earth (a sacrifice of His important time doing things in Heaven) On Earth he spoke to everyone, and when you think how clever Jesus is and how unworthy and stupid a lot of people are (take yourself, for example) then that was a big sacrifice
And then He has to set up the circumstances - in advance, i.e. at Creation - so that he will be born and then be prosecuted and die. What a sacrifice - that apparently took about 33 years of his valuable time.

I don't want to burn in Hell, but I fear I will for having such thoughts!

Meah! You're a hopeless case, get over it. Perhaps you could move house to some warm part of the world to start getting used to the heat.